State news agency SANA said women and children were among those killed in the Jaramana District of Damascus, a mostly Druze and Christian area. SANA said a bus was also burned out in the explosion and several shops were damaged in a crowded street.

“Terrorists blew up a car bomb with big quantities of explosives in the area which is crowded with inhabitants, claiming the lives of 18 citizens, among them three children and injuring 56 others,” SANA quoted a police source as saying.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

Last month a car bomb ripped through Jaramana, killing at least 10 people.

The explosion struck at around 7:15 pm (1615 GMT), when traffic was heavy as Muslims headed home for to break their Ramadan fast.

State television aired footage of wrecked shopfronts around the square and dozens of burned out vehicles. Images of the destruction were also posted to SANA’s website.

The blast came just an hour after a powerful explosion was heard in the capital’s main Palestinian camp, al-Yarmouk, which is witnessing intense battles between the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front and pro-government armed members of the Palestinian committees.

In August last year, another car bomb killed at least 27 people in the southeastern suburb.

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